INTERVIEW: Those who condemn dance drama as evangelism tool are insincere —Swagger Papa
Adeyemi Akanmu Iyebiye is the leader of Glorious Vision Dance Drama Ministryand is popularly known as Swagger Papa. In interview with SEYI SOKOYA, he speaks on the core values of the initiative in the propagation of the gospel.
You are one of the gospel ministers who have taken dance drama to another level; how were you able to achieve this?
No one receives anything except it is given by God from above. Dance drama as a tool of evangelism is the concept from the Holy Spirit for the spread of the gospel in the end time. We are not into comedy. Our concepts are inspirationally hilarious, full of deep scriptural messages and projects good moral values.
However, taking dance drama ministry to another level has only been made possible by the grace of God through the auspices of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says “the Holy Spirit as a teacher will reveal unto you things to come.” My team and I have surrendered ourselves to the leading of the Holy spirit, dedicated and also committed to Kingdom’s mandate. We gain unusual insights every day even as we minister the true gospel to everyone by God’s grace.
Moreover, professionally, carving a niche for the brand, Swagger Papa, has further given us the grace to break the norm and make us a model for many.
How did you discover you have passion for this?
We started on March 3, 2008 and since then we have been doing this; I have always found peace and unlimited joy against all odds. This is where I truly belong. I could remember vividly when I was beaten mercilessly by my daddy, because I sneaked out of the vigil to watch ‘Alfa Sule’s O ti gan pa, ministration at Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Anu, Adamasingba Ibadan, Oyo State.
A lot of reactions have continued to trail this aspect of evangelism. Some people have claimed that it is a distraction to strict evangelism. What is your take on this?
The claim that dance drama detracts the from strict evangelism is a heresy from the pit of hell. Our God is not a God of confusion. All these gifts are majorly for the edification of the gospel of Christ. The normative concept of dance drama is to make the audience totally engrossed by the comic aspect, while God hit them with rhema from above before or at the end of the drama. We’ve seen the manifestation of the raw power of God in all our ministrations as people come out en masse for altar call to surrender their lives to Christ. This is why some Bible believing churches don’t joke with dance drama ministries at crusades/outreach and other church programmes.
The last commission Jesus Christ gave to his disciples is to go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature and dance drama is one of these tools of evangelism.
As the leader of the group, how have you been able to sustain the group?
To the glory of God, Swagger Papa is one big family with so many creative and brilliant minds. So, this has made the leadership so easy by God’s grace because we have people of like minds. My leadership of the group has always entails taking full responsibility for my actions though all decisions are jointly taken. What has further sustained the group is that God has singlehandedly blessed every one of us with other different gifts which have been a great addition to the ministry. Swagger Papa has now become a vine with many branches to the glory of God.
How many works do you have to your credit?
We have three works; Ere Aigboran, The Proposal and Journey to Stardom series currently on social media channel, SwaggerPapa TV.
Ere Aigboran is coined from Proverb 29:1; “He that is being often reproved and hardeneth his neck shall be destroyed suddenly without any remedy,” Ere Aigboran addresses youthful exuberance and the need to invest the energy and strength of the youth to the realization of their glorious destinies, while The Proposal series is a message for the singles and engaged in admonishing them to wait for God’s will and time in their marital journey and never to ignore every warning signal in the course of their courtship. One of the viral episodes of The Proposal is that of Sister Banke on the mountain of singles (Ma jen wa la la i r’oko).
Journey to Stardom series addresses the plight of up-and-coming artistes and the need to wait on God for direction to get to stardom without compromising their faith.
All these works have blessed so many lives immeasurably with testimonies from within and outside the country. We even receive testimonies daily in all our social media handles.
How do you draw inspiration?
God is the giver of all true and perfect gifts. I engage the Holy Spirit in my research, little wonder, I also marvel at those concepts after production. I don’t joke with whatever comes into my mind by intuition, especially when I’m with the team. Also, team work plays a major role in all our productions for. Two good heads are better than one. Even with team alone, I can write a season film, because they are just too loaded and I cherish them so much. I don’t joke with my team.
You have toured many churches across the country with your brand, what is the experience like?
This has availed us the opportunity to fulfilling destiny, depopulating the kingdom of hell through our ministrations by God’s grace, meeting new great people, and enlarging our coast. We gain new grounds for Christ even as we gain exposure all day. We cherish all these opportunities and want to seize this medium to appreciate all the ministries, organisations and churches that invite us for ministrations. We celebrate them all greatly through this medium.
Where would you like to see yourself in the next five years?
Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of men, what the Lord has prepared for them that love him. In the next five years, I see myself as a living institution and Swagger Papa as a household name by God’s grace.
What are the challenges you have faced so far?
Challenges are inevitable ranging from financial, material and human resources. We are men of the spirit and we know the devil will always walk around like a roaring lion. The good news is that, no matter the challenges, we are sold out to Christ and no going back. Christ has always been faithful to us to see us through all our trying moment. By God’s grace, we are better than yesterday and trusting God for a better tomorrow.
What does it take to be a dance drama minister?
The first quality is being a born again, because it is a ministry and not an industry. A dance drama minister must be an unapologetic and a violent soul winner. He or she must be a person of the spirit who is very versed with the word of God. He must be passionate and dedicated to depopulating the kingdom of hell and populating the kingdom of God couple with some creative acting skills and abilities.
Source: Tribune
